Hi peeps Found out today that the roof vent that goes through my roof rack and cab roof likes to let water through. The plan had always been to remove the vent and make good as I did not like it but the leak has brought this job up the list. Can you please assist by, a) recommending a good 'glue' that I can use to bond a sheet metal plate to the roof of the van without taking back to metal and painting. The roof is in good condition apart from the hole and the guy I bought the van from supplied a plate already painted so I just need to bond it on. b) provide some thought on how I could repair the roof rack. I was thinking Fibreglass but I have never done this before so I don't know where to get it from or if it is easy enough to use. Would it bond straight to the roof rack or would I need to make a section up and then glue it on after ? Pics to help you visualise.
You could just get a bigger roof vent? Or you could just get a boot edge seal which is bigger than that? Otherwise fibreglass bond itself should be enough or even just pop rivet the plate on?
I'd leave it as it is... you'd normally have drain holes in it anyway, so you just need to seal the vent to the roof to stop water ingress
That's a thought. Certainly for a short term fix anyhow. Just need to see how I can fix it to the roof rack as the vent works by sandwiching the roof rack and the roof lining between the inner and outer vent frame. If I leave it in, I will only be able to use the outer frame once I have stuck the metal panel on the cab roof and will need to find a way of fixing the frame. Gave me something to thinkabout though Cheers
Use Sikaflex as sealant and as really tenacious glue instead of silicone.. If repairing old fiberglass try using epoxy resin with woven glass as it sticks better to old polyester resin than new polyester resin as sold in Halfords . New epoxy on old polyester fibreglass certainly works well on my 1979 yacht. Don't use chopped mat glass with epoxy as it is intended to be used only with polyester. The chopped mat is held together with glue that weakens epoxy but dissolves in polyester.
Thanks? Does anyone know what the Westy roof is made of ? Presumed it was fibreglass but polyester or epoxy?
Long term Zed, I probably would but if I find one I would then need to paint the whole roof to get it to match which I cannot afford at the moment. So I was thinking of a repair that would not be seen unless you were looking down on the roof.
If you can find a boat specialist near you, they'll probably repair it and you'll never know that it's been fixed!!
Update: After my last post we had some snow ! I went out to van and found water all over the dash and the floor so thought s*d it, I'm going to fix it. So over a couple of weeks I did this Off with roof rack Remove vent Fitted panel using tigerflex and self tapper (to hold it in place and take form of roof) Then cut a piece of polycarbonate to shape and stuck it to the roof rack. After water testing both the panel and then the roof rack, I sprayed the roof rack repair with Plastikote. All fitted It's not a proper repair, but it is a 'proper' bodge ! It should last and you will not be able to see the repair from the inside unless you take the headlining off, or if you look into the roof rack. It was also very cost effective and I did not need to worry about colour matching. So I'm happy ! Thanks for everyone's input.
